OSLO, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Norwegian energy firm Statoil
bought the rights to about 70,000 acres of
shale-producing area in the United States on Wednesday as part
of a plan to increase its North American production by five
times by 2020.

Statoil paid a total consideration of $590 million for the
liquid-rich shale area in the Marcellus formation in Ohio and
West Virginia, it said in a statement.

Statoil entered the Marcellus in 2008 through a partnership
with Chesapeake Energy and has been steadily increasing
its acreage through acquisitions.

"A majority of the net acres in this transaction are located
in the liquid-rich part of the Marcellus," Statoil said in a
statement. "The market for these products is substantially
better paying than the current market for dry gas in the U.S."

The new area has a risked resource base estimated at 300
million to 500 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), and its
current equity production is around 5,000 boe per day.

Statoil earlier said that it aimed to increase its
production from Marcellus to at least 50,000 boe per day in 2012
and at least 200,000 boe per day after 2020.

That is part of its wider plan to increase North American
production to 500,000 boe per day by 2020 from less than 100,000
in 2011, with around 300,000 of that coming from onshore
operations, primarily shale formations.

The firm also has share acreage in the Eagle Ford, Bakken
and Three Forks formations.